Notary Services

The Caldwell Public Library provides free Notary Public services for the benefit of the residents of our community.

To set up an appointment:

Schedule an appointment with the Notary by calling 973-226-2837 or emailing librarian@caldwellpl.org.

We may be able to take walk-ins, but there is no guarantee. We highly recommend scheduling an appointment.

What you need to know before your appointment:

Valid government-issued photo identification is required for everyone requesting Notary service.

The Library will not provide witnesses and witnesses may not be solicited from others using the Library. A witness must personally know the person whose document is being notarized and must be in possession of valid photo identification.

Documents in any language other than English cannot be notarized here. New Jersey requires that a Notary and the person seeking notarization be able to communicate directly with each other. Library Notaries are not permitted to make use of a translator to communicate with a person seeking notarization.

Certain public documents cannot be copied and notarized. Examples of these are: birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage certificates.

In accordance with New Jersey Notarial Law, Notaries will not provide service if the person seeking notarization, documents, or circumstances of the request for Notary service raise any issue of authenticity, doubt, or uncertainty for the Library. In this event, the Library Notary may, at their sole discretion, decline to provide Notary service.

The library reserves the right to limit the number of signatures and stamps or decline service for any reason.

The library provides only basic Notary services. Notary service is not available for power of attorney, mortgage documents, deeds, wills, living wills, living trusts, codicils, depositions, divorce documents, custodial documents, or real estate transactions. Notaries may decline to notarize complex or unfamiliar documents.

Notary Responsibilities:

The Notary will ensure that the signer understands the title of the document and is signing freely and willingly. The New Jersey State Treasurer has determined that the following must be performed in any Notary acknowledgement transaction: “the Notary will review the document presented for completeness. This is not a formal legal review, such as would be performed by an accountant or attorney. Rather, it is a review to ensure there are no blanks in the document. Should blanks be discovered, the signer must either fill them in or strike them out by drawing a line or “X” through them.”

Notaries Public in this Library shall correctly maintain a Notary journal of all notarial acts they perform.

The Notary will establish the identity of each signer through personal knowledge or with identification documents. Identification documents must have both a photo and signature.